Delete a Table, Not Just Its Contents
The Problem:
Call me anal, but I hate inconsistency in the Windows interface. Over the last couple of months, I've grown used to selecting what I want to delete and then pressing the Delete key to off it. (Yes, I've offed the Recycle Bin already.) It works in Explorer, works in Excel, and works in Word...but not for tables. When I try to delete the selected part of a table, all Word does is delete the contents of the cells. Pavlov would be rolling in his kennel.
The Solution:
There's no real fix, but understanding the rationale for Word's behavior might help you feel better. Word's designers decided to draw a distinction between deleting all or part of a table's contents and all or part of its structure. So a standard Delete command deletes contents, while the easiest way to delete the table's structure (with any contents that remain) is to select the appropriate part of the table and then press Backspace. You can also choose Table 
Delete and choose Table, Columns, Rows, or Cells (as appropriate) from the submenu.